Difficulties playing NC HA

Hmm. I suppose the operative word to keep in mind here is "perseverance" with regards to NC LMGs. Not going to be the easiest thing for me, but that is not something I want to go into right now.

Anyway, would you suggest I continue working on upgrading the EM1 further, or move into my armor certs? I don't remember whether it gets the soft point ammo and I'm not sure the suppressor is going to be the greatest thing in the world for CQC.

Yeah don't worry about the suppressor. Only time I think that cert is worthwhile is on an Infil's pistol or as a light assault when you don't want to give away your position on the map (plus LA has the ability to flank and get close enough to make the detriments of a suppressor not matter as much). Having said that, I can see a place for it under certain circumstances, but I'd still consider it a tertiary priority. Get it only if you and some mates are doing quick strikes that need the element of surprise and stealth, and never use it except in that specific circumstance.

Cert costs in this game are tiered, so follow the natural progression of certs. Basically, get the cheap stuff first. Snag the weapon upgrades (in the case of the EM1, the laser dot rail attachment and maybe a reflex sight) and maybe soft point ammo, although I hear that SP ammo reduces CQ damage a bit while increasing damage at medium range. Try it out and see if you like it, and if you don't well then at least you know, and 100 certs isn't that big an investment comparatively speaking.

After that, grab some of the armor/NMG certs as needed. If you're going with resist shield, think about picking up nanoweave armor. If you plan on using the baseline NMG, then shield capacitor is a good idea, especially if you're good at evading enemy contact for a few seconds. Flak armor is always nice as well, for dealing with grenade spam. Or grab munitions pouch for more rocket ammo (less of an issue in most battles due to engys dropping ammo). My personal pref is nano + resist, but shield + NMG works great as well.

Build those up until the cert prices start to get pretty high, then grab some C4 if you want extra boom power, or a medkit/resto kit if you want to be more self-sufficient. But most importantly, get the lower cost stuff first. Higher cert costs certs give you an advantage, but generally not so much over the lower cost versions. For instance, you get more out of the first four ranks of nanoweave armor than you do from the last rank of nanoweave, and the last rank costs like 1000 certs, which is more than the first four ranks combined. Those final cert ranks are generally considered to be "end game" things, where you spend them once you've got the rest of your stuff filled out and have certs to blow so to speak.

I already have the laser sight and a reflex for my EM1, so I'm going to leave that gun alone cert-wise for a while. What I think I will do, though, is work on NMG/Adv Shield Cap for a while and then grab a second resto kit.

Anyway, many thanks for the suggestions, and for the wonderful NC LMG guide as well.

Get the GD22-S it's a good 15-20% better than the default gun.
Put a red dot sight on it. Put a foregrip on it.
Put points into nanoweave, put points into your heavy assault shield.

With that gun and those extra nanoweave and ability points, you have more damage and health. Now as soon as you get into a fight, press F to pop your shield and aim at their head. For mid range encounters, aim for 3 bullet bursts and concetrate on countering recoil. Don't forget to use cover and take cover to let your shields regen.

That's all there is to it.

EDIT: Also get the health regen pack as soon as possible. That thing is awesome and lets you rebuild after a firefight. Also hang with medics if you can.

Then apparently I'm no good at this game. I'm currently stuck at a 2:3 KDR and, for reference, I do have resto kits unlocked as well as NMG 2 and Adv SC 2. The problem is that, at close range, I can barely do anything to the TR and VS. At long range, when I have time to get behind cover and ADS, I can perform somewhat competently.

But, as previously stated, as soon as someone gets in close - no matter whether I'm kitted out with my SAW or EM1 - I get sprayed twice as fast as I can fire, flinches throw off my aim, and he generally walks away with barely a scratch on his health.

I'm sure I'm not as good at shooters as most of the people I'm playing against, since I never liked CoD/CS/Whatever the hell people are still playing on XBL, but the more I play NC HA the more I seriously regret the decision. I knew the NC guns weren't the most accurate of things, but that fact continually bites me in the rear.

Am I the only one that likes the starter HA rifle? I have the 2 forgrips certed and the 3.5x scope. With single shots I can pretty much out snipe snipers and in medium range it drops people no problem.

“Then apparently I'm no good at this game. I'm currently stuck at a 2:3 KDR and, for reference, I do have resto kits unlocked as well as NMG 2 and Adv SC 2. The problem is that, at close range, I can barely do anything to the TR and VS. At long range, when I have time to get behind cover and ADS, I can perform somewhat competently.

But, as previously stated, as soon as someone gets in close - no matter whether I'm kitted out with my SAW or EM1 - I get sprayed twice as fast as I can fire, flinches throw off my aim, and he generally walks away with barely a scratch on his health.

I'm sure I'm not as good at shooters as most of the people I'm playing against, since I never liked CoD/CS/Whatever the hell people are still playing on XBL, but the more I play NC HA the more I seriously regret the decision. I knew the NC guns weren't the most accurate of things, but that fact continually bites me in the rear.”

The best thing I could offer then is to try not to be the first into combat if CQC is your problem. Have an engy, medic, LA or another HA with a shotty head in first, and you provide covering fire. You gotta play to your strengths, and if your strength is not CQC then try to avoid it if at all possible. Let others go in first and you cover the corners or watch their backs. Make sure you approach a potential CQC situation slowly instead of rushing in and getting caught with your pants down so to speak.

Part of it is the VS and TR weapons just have a lot of ROF advantage over us, anywhere from 100-300 RPM above what you get using NC weapons. That means there's a much smaller margin for error when it comes to playing NC compared to TR/VS. You absolutely have to make every shot count, whereas with TR and VS you fire so many rounds that if you get hit and your aim is thrown off a bit, who cares, you're putting out more shots than the NC guy is regardless (well, with a few exceptions, like the GD-F carbine) so you have more chances to recover.

Really, what needs to happen is that aim disruption needs to be based on damage per shot. Right now I think it's the same across all factions, for all weapons. If you get hit, your aim disrupts by X amount, regardless of whether its a scattercannon shot or a Beamer shot. They need to make the aim disruption more pronounced for the higher damage weapons. After all, the NC Rebel pistol can 2-3 shot enemies with headshots the thing is so damn powerful; getting hit by that should really disrupt a person's aim compared to the relative tickling you get from a Beamer. So if the NC SAW hits ~25% harder than the CARV and Orion, the SAW should have 25% more aim disruption to make up for it.

I started off not enjoying NC HA very much, the default gun just felt 'wrong'. Then I bought the GD-22s, certed the 2x reflex scope and a foregrip, and I have to say I'm liking this loadout more and more every day. My accuracy with it is at 22% and growing as I get better using it (compared to the 16% I had with default SAW, although with no attachments). I win most of medium range firefights with this gun, it's also pretty good at longer ranges and is very rewarding to use if you learn to counter the recoil while bursting. It fits my playstyle of flanking and engaging from the distance very well, and the occasional times when I end up in CQC fights it can hold its own, although it's not a CQC powerhouse.

Maybe down the road when I have nothing to spend certs on I'll try SAW-S and EM1 (people say that these two are good medium-longe range LMGs), but for now very happy with GD-22s.

“I'm sure I'm not as good at shooters as most of the people I'm playing against, since I never liked CoD/CS/Whatever the hell people are still playing on XBL, but the more I play NC HA the more I seriously regret the decision. I knew the NC guns weren't the most accurate of things, but that fact continually bites me in the rear.”

If you never played CounterStrike or any other fiercely competitive shooter, you probably picked the wrong faction to start on. The NC weapons are the most accurate and deadly in the game while standing still, they become less accurate because of high recoil. The VS have better accuracy at range because of low recoil, high bullet speed, and no bullet drop while the TR have the highest default COF and moderate COF bloom/recoil... and the higher ROF on TR weapons just makes them even less accurate with all the twitching. Statistically speaking, the TR have the least accurate weapons in the game, but the rate of fire makes up for it. The NC conversely have the most accurate weapons with higher damage and a slower ROF that gives more time to control the horrible recoil.

The NC faction is not a newbie friendly one, it requires consistent headshots and recoil management. If you're "not as good at shooters as most", it'll be the most challenging faction to do well in.

What NietCheese wrote in post #25 is the best way to play NC. If you can't manage that, you're advised to switch factions. If you want to stay NC, try using the GD-7F instead. Until someone nerfs them, carbines are lethal and accurate.